A lifeline for the poor: Indus Hospital unveils plans for better facility

The hospital plans to increase capacity to 1,500 beds at a cost of Rs50 billion.

KARACHI: With rising inflation, lack of resources and increasing prices of health treatments, an international standard healthcare facility, that provides free treatment, is a dream come true for many.

The Indus Hospital is exactly that. It strives to provide state-of-the-art treatment, free of charge to all patients. And with its plans to expand, the facility hopes to provide services to millions of patients in the coming years. The plan, unveiled at the groundbreaking ceremony at the hospital’s premises on Sunday, is to develop the 150-bed facility into one that has a capacity of 1,500 beds.



President Mamnoon Hussain, who was invited to the groundbreaking ceremony, could not make it to the venue due to security concerns. He did, however, perform the ritual at a private ceremony at the Governor House where he officially inaugurated the project.

Following the inauguration, the ceremony continued at the Indus Hospital where it was revealed that the Children Cancer Hospital (CCH) had now merged with the Indus Hospital.

In his speech, Indus Hospital CEO Dr Abdul Bari said that the facility was Pakistan’s first paperless and multi-specialty healthcare centre, providing free treatment to patients since 2007. He was of the opinion, though, that it wasn’t enough and that the hospital needed to be developed so it could cater to more patients.



Following the expansion, the Indus Hospital will go from being a 150-bed hospital to a 1,500-bed facility. The number of emergency rooms will rise from nine to 104. The hospital currently caters to approximately 1,000 out-patients per day. This will increase to 5,500 patients per day.

The Indus Hospital’s chief architect, Tariq Alexander Qaiser, said that after the implementation of the plan, the hospital will provide new services, including Gynecology, Neurology and Oncology to cater to the needs of a larger number of people who cannot afford quality healthcare. “Patient welfare is the main objective of the expansion project,” he stressed.

He said that the hospital will also start up its dental department and a medical university too in its 2nd and 3rd phase. The plan is projected to be complete within the next 10 years at an approximate cost of Rs50 billion.

The new structure has been designed by a Singapore-based architecture firm, CPG Consultants. Its senior vice president, Lim Lip Chuan, explained the essence of the building’s design at the ceremony. “Besides a healing environment, we stress on patient care and aesthetic surroundings.”

He explained that the design of the building will help improve work efficiency as well as patient care, bearing in mind the economic and environmental sustainability.

“Every patient will have a window at their bedside, enabling them to have a self-controlled environment. The project will be a blend of contemporary and Pakistani mode with international standards.”

Speaking to The Express Tribune, the CEO of the Children’s Cancer Hospital, Muhammad Shamvil Ashraf, said that a memorandum of understanding had been signed between the two facilities and systems were being synergised. He said that the Cancer Unit would consist of 60 beds. A specialised hospital for children is also in the offing, he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 16^th, 2013.